7.29.2010

KadoKado is an amazing, AWESOME international game site. Created by Motion Twin in 2003, KadoKado was originally written in French! They're still in the process of translating everything, so don't be surprised if you catch a random bit of French here and there.

Oh! And there are zero ads on KadoKado! Each day you'll get four green gems. (Gems act like game tokens.) Green gems are good for one day only and any leftovers will vanish. If you want to play more then you can buy orange gems! Orange gems never expire and you can buy them with Kado points, Paypal, or by phone.

You're limited to one account at KadoKado. If you don't understand why they limit you to one account, check out this post. ^_^

Layout

The layout at KadoKado looks great! However, navigating it isn't 100% intuitive. I suggest exploring so you can figure out how everything is connected. There aren't a ton of pages, so once you understand how to reach your destination, it's easy to find it again. ^_^

Games

KadoKado has an extensive library of 70 games. They're divided into two categories: action (39 games) and puzzle (31 games.) A third category, favorites, lets you add your favorite games so they're all in one spot. Very handy!

These are a few of my favorite things..

I prefer puzzles over action, but all are well made.

18 of the games are free, but the rest you'll need to unlock with Kado points or by earning VIP status. Games cost anywhere from 20 Kado points to 10,000!!! (Most are 20.)

Kado Points

You probably figured out that Kado points are the currency in KadoKado. ^_^ There are four ways to earn them.

Games

Stars

Rankings

Clans

Each of these parts is a little tricky to explain, so stick with me.

1. Games. Every time you play a game on KadoKado, you're issued a challenge. (They call it a contract, but I think that sounds scary.)

I <3 Cooking Lili!

In the picture above, I need to score 24,000+ points to earn 4 Kado Points. The score you need to beat AND the reward is random.

I really, really <3 Cooking Lili!

This time I need to score 18,000 or higher and I'll earn 42 Kado points! Fascinating!

2. Stars are like trophies. You can win one per game per "Kalendar period," which is 14 days. A green star is worth 10 Kado points. Orange stars are 50 Kado points, and red stars are 100 Kado points.

Once you gain a star, the only way to lose it is by reaching the next star level. So if you have a red star, you're at the top.

At the end of the Kalendar period, KadoKado shuts down for a few hours and the stars are converted into Kado points.

3. It took me a while to understand rankings. Now that I get it I think it's awesome. ^_^

On each game you start out as a Newbie. If you're in the top 3,000 players for that game by the time the Kalendar period ends, you'll go up in rank and earn 100 Kado points. To reach the next rank you need to be in the top 2,000 players.

Impressive!

Here's where I got confused. *^_^* I thought there was one high scores list and the range of qualified players just got smaller and smaller.

Nope! There are a total of nine high score lists for each game! In the first rank you're competing against other Newbies. In the second rank you're competing against only Confirmeds, and so on. And if you're awesome enough to be the top player in Gold ranking, then you enter the Paradise rank, where only the best of the best go.

Since the score needed for the next rank is determined by a range of players, the score you need to beat constantly changes. As the Kalendar period progresses, more people will have higher scores, so keep an eye on your rankings! If it says "OK" then you'll go up in rank at the end of the period.

You have a lot of work to do, missy!

Of course, the challenge isn't over once you reach Paradise level! At the end of the Kalendar period, the best player in each game get a feather. The person with the most feathers gets 100,000 Kado points!

4. Clans are something I haven't tried yet, but they seem fun. ^_^ You can fight other clans or work on group missions. Fighting is done through the games! One clan attacks and picks a game. Whichever clan has the highest score at the end of 12 hours is declared the winner!

At the end of the Championship period (28 days) the top 500 clans get Kado points. The number one clan gets 600,000 Kado points split between their players!

Prizes

At KadoKado you earn prizes with Kado points. The prizes are Amazon gift certificates!

$6.50 = 30,000 points

$20 = 80,000 points

$65 = 250,000 points

And uh.. that covers it. ^_^

VIP

When you buy orange gems for the first time you automatically hit VIP level one. There are a total of three VIP levels, but to reach levels 2 and 3 you have to fill a loyalty card.

Almost there!

You get one stamp for every 30 orange gems that you buy, so you need 300 orange gems to reach level 2. Once you're there you'll get a second loyalty card to complete.

Pretty blue!

This time every 60 orange gems that you buy equals one stamp. This means you need 600 orange gems to reach level 3! But what do you get for being a VIP anyway?

Level 1: Double Kado points for completed challenges, VIP stats page, stats for previous periods, and a new banner at the top of the page.

Level 2: All of the bonuses from level 1, five daily green gems instead of 4, access to a VIP 2 game, previews of new games, and a new banner at the top.

Level 3: All of the bonuses from levels 1 and 2, access to a VIP 3 game, and a new banner at the top.

I usually play free whenever I can, but I uh, convinced myself that a one-time purchase made sense. ^_^ Here's why.

You don't get sucked into a recurring monthly fee.

Orange gems never expire, so you can play (or wander off) whenever you want.

Once you earn a VIP level, the perks never go away.

Double Kado points forever? Why yes, thank you!

Additionally, the orange gem system is budget friendly. If you don't have much time to play, a purchase of 120 gems might last you a long time. (120 gems is roughly $6, depending on the exchange rate. That's 5 cents a play!)

If money is really tight, you can trade in 30,000 Kado points for 100 orange gems. That works too. ^_^

Community

KadoKado doesn't have a chat system, but they do have a great forum! For 500 Kado points you can get a Forum Pass so you can make posts. If you're lucky you can get that many points in a week or two of free play.

The forum is very active and there are threads dedicated to each game on the site! I wish I had more spare time because it looks like a fun place. ^_^

Ah well. You can share your love of KadoKado by telling your friends! Each player gets a sponsor link. Whenever someone you sponsor buys orange gems, you get gems too! It's 20% of however many they bought. So if someone purchased 120 orange gems, that means you'd get 24 orange gems for free. Not bad at all!

Final Opinion

I absolutely love KadoKado! The games are fun, cute, and quick. ^_^ There are no ads to slow me down, and I love that I can pay for what I'll use instead of getting a monthly contract.

Every day I swing by for my green gems. But most of the time I end up playing a lot longer. *^_^* It's a great site! If you want to friend me my account name is MiraHope. Tell me what your name is so I can add you too!